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"The Auditory Herb" Rootz interview by NUG MAGAZINE

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Article By: Marco Alvarez | Photos By: 613 Photography

Reggae sensation Rootz Underground continues its mission of inspiring listeners and providing you some much needed “releaf” with their deep-minded euphony!

Let your head absorb all their elements: classic and modern reggae sounds, intelligent lyrics, powerful live performances, and their Releaf Project, a noble plan to replenish the world’s forests.

The members of Rootz Underground are: Stephen Newland (Lead Vocals), Charles Lazarus (Lead Guitar), Colin Young (Bass), Jeffrey Moss-Solomon (Rhythm Guitar/Vocals), Paul “Scubi” Smith (Keyboards/Vocals), and Leon Campbell (Drums).

In 2008, Rootz Underground toured North America, Hawaii, and the Caribbean; and in March of that year, they released their debut album titled “Movement.” They performed with other notable acts such as Dean Fraser, Anthony B, Tarrus Riley, Gregory Isaacs, Israel Vibration, and the Wailing Souls. After their debut album, they released their live album appropriately entitled “Alive,” which was recorded during their Reggae Train Tour and is available on their website’s store. In 2009, they released their next studio album, “Gravity,” and toured Europe and South America. Their latest and second live album is “Live in France.”

As part of their Releaf Tour this year, they’ve played 17 shows all along the west coast throughout California, Oregon, and Washington. On June 10th, they jammed at the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa alongside other names like Primus and The Flaming Lips. Rootz Underground also recently appeared in a few major reggae festivals: L.A.’s Reggae on the Mountain in Topanga on July 9th; and the 27th annual Reggae on the River on July 17th in Garberville, Ca.

“Secret that my momma used to hide from me. I man must have been born in a herb field.” Rootz Underground’s lyrics, such as these in the song “Herb Fields” off the Movement album, often incorporate a connection with nature, with cannabis, with one’s origin and consciousness, and with others. The vivid lyrical compositions and thoughtful arrangements of songs are of the kind that one finds in poetry. Their song “Unknown Soldier” honors all the soldiers in history who have given their lives for rights and freedom without any recognition. It is a recognition of the soldiers who we overlook, and every line seeks to empower people through awareness and love. The video for this song stylishly greets you when you visit the website.

The blog section on the Rootz Underground website reveals some disheartening statistics on the world’s depleting forests, but then follows with a useful tip for planting a tree: line the hole you’ve dug out with potatoes to provide moisture and nutrients as they decompose. This aspect of the band’s activism distinguishes them from all the other bands in the business just trying to make a name and some money for themselves. Their Releaf Project demonstrates not only environmental activism, but social and economic activism as well. By being actively involved in several communities, they add another layer of significance to the messages in their music because a materialization of the words and concepts makes it more real.

A short documentary film, “The Rootz Reggaementary,” can be watched on the website and reveals quite a lot about the band, ideologically and musically. To a similar effect, I hoped to capture a direct and personal glimpse of the band by asking some questions that had popped into my mind:

Where did each of you grow up?
We all grew up in Jamaica – it’s small enough that we won’t differentiate areas, but diverse enough that we all experienced the full range of city-country life.

As for the beginnings, when and how did the band come together?
We basically grew up together and came to play music together over this time, but we collectively decided that we’d be a band in the summer of 2000.

So how did you guys decide on the name ‘Rootz Underground’?
A friend (Shana) gave it to us. She said we’re ‘rootsy’ yet still new and edgy enough to be considered ‘underground.’

How did you guys go about finding your sound? And how has your sound evolved since the band first started playing?
We didn’t find our sound. It grew, as we grew as friends and musicians. It continues to grow and evolve in that same way, like a tree with a good, healthy root system.

Did any of you ever take formal playing lessons?
All of us at various times and levels.

How do you guys handle the writing of the lyrics? Does Stephen write all the lyrics?
Stephen has been the most prolific writer among us to date. All of us do write, however.

What’s the band’s recording process like?
More or less academic – record first with drums and bass as the primary goals, then move onto overdubs then vocals – mix & master.

What albums have you guys released?
Our first was Movement, then we followed that with Alive. After that was Gravity, and lately, Live in France.

What excites you about your latest album aside from your individual instrumental parts?
Our latest album is well underway in production. We’re all excited about it as an entire project. It represents a fullness of our musical experiences of the past 11 years.

Who have been some of the band’s musical influences?
With six members, our influences are too numerous to mention. Suffice it to say that there is almost no genre that hasn’t made some form of impact on each of us as individuals.

What are your shared priorities and common values as a band?
We share a need to see universal upliftment for all mankind. Our common priorities are to constantly extend the reach of our music, and therefore message, to this end.

Tell me about the Releaf Tour…What is it all about?
The Releaf Tour is the physical, travelling incarnation of our Rootz Global Releaf program. It’s a movement geared towards bringing life-conscious individuals together in a real, growing, living global forest. All we ask is that each one plant a tree – it’s REALLY THAT SIMPLE! Take a pic of you and your new tree and geo-tag it, or just send us the address to Releaf@RootzUnderground.com and we’ll add it to the online map of our growing global forest.

Do you find it hard to carry a relationship or have a family while you’re on the road or making music?
No. Relationships (family and friends) carry their own challenges. It is these challenges, and overcoming them, which form the core of what inspires us to make our music and travel to take it to the world.

If you guys weren’t doing the music thing, what would each of you otherwise be doing?
Trying to get out of whatever we’re otherwise doing to get into the music thing!

Now let’s touch on cannabis. How often do you guys smoke, if at all?
Some of us – not at all – some of us 3 times a day. Each man is mutually respected in his personal space, as good friends always do.

If each of you had to pick a favorite strain of cannabis, what would it be?
A friend of ours (Noel) grew a strain of Headband crossed with Sour Diesel called HBSD – PRIMO!

Imagine a table in front of you with a bong, a rolled up joint, and a vaporizer all ready to go. What does each of you reach for first?
Spliffs are most commonly smoked amongst us, but a vaporizer is a treat when available too – and better for your lungs!

Why do you guys think cannabis draws so much controversy?
Because it’s illegal (mostly), yet still it is such a versatile and efficacious plant – useful in every conceivable way.

What would you guys say to someone who thinks cannabis is bad because it’s a gateway drug?
Cannabis is a drug?!?! WTF!?!?

Do you guys ever smoke on stage during a show?
It’s been known to happen…

Zooming out a little now, what’s next for Rootz Underground?
New singles – a new album – a new tour. Constant work on expanding our fan base and delivering our music and message to said fans.

Lastly, what advice would you guys give to a new band just starting out?
Be persistent. Be true. Be diligent and be organized.

NANAIMO DAILY NEWS

September 16, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010

http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/story.html?id=56e6ea1b-1168-4109-bbc3-3ef4cfb30905

Plant trees for reggae Rootz Underground
Derek Spalding, Daily News
Published: Thursday, September 16, 2010

One of Jamaica's most recognized reggae-rock bands encourages people to plant trees in their communities in exchange for free passes to live music shows.
Rootz Underground returns to Nanaimo during the group's second visit to Canada and fans can have access to the performance at the Queen's Hotel by proving that they planted a tree. It's an idea that began when Rootz Underground members performed in Greece during a European tour.

The locals had planted an olive tree for the band and in order for the band members to return to the right tree in future visits, they identified it on a global positioning system. After that, they took the idea further and started planting their own trees in the communities they visited while touring the world. The idea then blossomed when fans were invited to grow their own as well.

The band regularly receives photos of people standing next to their newly-planted trees, according to lead guitarist Jeffrey Moss-Solomon.

"It's a lot of fun and it's a good cause," he said. "It doesn't matter what kind of tree, we just encourage people to plant more."

The six-person band began as a four-piece back in 2000. Moss-Solomon started jamming with Charles Lazarus on guitar, Colin Young on bass and Stephen Newland singing. As the group toured the small, underground clubs in Kingston, they started garnering attention. Admittedly, the technical part of the music took time to evolve, but they all believed in the sound and the lyrics they had composed, according to Moss-Solomon.

The musicianship of the group accelerated when keyboardist Paul Smith and drummer Leon Campbell joined in later years.

"The vibes are very good right now, so hopefully this will be the configuration that we have for a long time," Moss-Solomon said.

Rootz Underground first released an EP Lightning Theory in 2007 before launching the band's first full-length album Movement the following year. They then put out Alive, a free live album that people could download off the Internet. That project was popular worldwide, particularly in Europe, according to Moss-Solomon.

This latest tour will promote the newest album Gravity, which is not released on CD in North America yet, but a digital version is available online.

Everyone has a week to plant a tree and send their photos to the band. Check out the website www.rootzunderground.com. The show is on Sept. 23 and starts at 8 p.m.

Derek Spalding is a reporter and columnist for the Daily News. He can be reached at DSpalding@nanaimodailynews.com.

© The Daily News (Nanaimo) 2010

 

HIGH TIMES MAGAZINE

August 2010
Sunday, August 01, 2010

 

On a bright and scorching morning, I’m assembled with Rootz Underground at Port Royal in Kingston, Jamaica. Back in the late 16th and 17th centuries, this town was the epicenter of pirate life in the Caribbean, and the home base of the infamous Captain Morgan, a few hundred years before he posthumously endorsed a brand of spiced rum.

Not that Rootz Underground has a whole lot in common with the late captain. In fact, this congregation of reggae musicians is an interesting contrast to the stone bunkers and iron cannons of this once-great British garrison that was destroyed by an earthquake back in 1692. (Many will tell you it was God’s hand coming down upon the wicked.) Whereas most acts in Jamaica involve a singer and a support band (or tape), Rootz Underground is a group of six players, five of whom are present today: singer Stephen Newland (a.k.a. Stevie G), lead guitarist Charles Lazarus, second guitarist Jeffrey Moss-Solomon, keyboardist Paul Smith (a.k.a. SCUBI) and bassist Colin Young. (The drummer, Leon Campbell, had a rough night and slept in.)

As we all try to keep the smoke from our spliffs out of sight from the security guards at this heritage site, I ask them what the word “roots” means to them. 

“To me, it is like a movement based on simpler things,” says Jeffrey. “Where it all began – Mother Nature, seeds, the elements. It has a very spiritual connotation: respecting the earth. Respecting each other. Everything come from the same one source. To know where that connection is, where that common factor is, I think we’ll run better.”

I ask them about marijuana’s role in this whole back-to-the-earth worldview, and they laugh and tell me that herb is what fuels the group.

“One time a relative of ours came to our show,” Stevie recalls, “and he’s not really a ganja man – he doesn’t know that much. After the first time he came to see the Rootz Underground, he was like; ‘I get it, man: Smoke goes in, tunes come out.’” Stevie laughs. “I mean, we all smoke ganja in a spiritual way. It is not really a party thing. It is a medicinal and spiritual way – that’s how we use ganja. So it’s helping us this time to maintain sanity in a crazy world.”

Though they’ve known each other since childhood, Rootz Underground formed as a group in Kingston back in 2000, and their most recent album, Gravity, had just hit the stores a few weeks prior to our meeting. I ask them about influences, and beyond the reggae and dancehall that permeates every facet of life in Kingston, Jeffrey also cites a roll call of performers as diverse as the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, the Cure, Guns ’n Roses, the Smiths and the Notorious BIG.

“And if you take it back to the ’80s,” Stevie adds, “I could recall some Purple Rain.”

Their latest video, “Power to the People,” is a call to arms for the little man that starts out with a great archival scene: Emperor Haile Selassie I filmed in his palace garden in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Staring directly into the camera, the emperor states: “Even in the 20th century, with faith, courage and just cause, David will still beat Goliath.”

The obvious question in the 21st century is: Can David still whip the giant today?

“He’s currently conquering Goliath,” Jeffrey says. “And that is exactly what we represent: how the smaller person, or smaller entity, overcome the bigger, more overwhelming entity. And it’s through our pure spiritual power and higher love.”

“They try to make you small,” Colin adds, “but it is all right to be small. You can be small and very powerful.” 

“Out of nothing came everything,” Colin adds, “and will repeat itself. I mean civilizations. I mean, civilizations always repeat. Even the water we drink. Just like you dying, and breaking up, recycling. Nothing is new under the sun. The small always win.” 

 

PLAYBOY MAGAZINE

March 2009
Monday, March 02, 2009

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